{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/20-146.11.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/20-146.11.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/20-146.11.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/20-146.11.html"}],"law_id":83304,"edition_id":1,"section_id":83304,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.11","catch_line":"Cooperation between courts; preservation of records","history":"1979, c. 229, \u00a7\u00a7 20-142, 20-143, 20-144, 20-145; 2001, c. 305.","full_text":"A\n\nA court of this Commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another state to:1\n\nHold an evidentiary hearing;2\n\nOrder a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that state;3\n\nOrder that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child involved in a pending proceeding;4\n\nForward to the court of this Commonwealth a certified copy of the transcript of the record of the hearing, the evidence otherwise presented, and any evaluation prepared in compliance with the request; and5\n\nOrder a party to a child custody proceeding or any person having physical custody of the child to appear in the proceeding with or without the child.B\n\nUpon request of a court of another state, a court of this Commonwealth may hold a hearing or enter an order described in subsection A.C\n\nTravel and other necessary and reasonable expenses incurred under subsections A and B may be assessed against the parties according to the law of this Commonwealth.D\n\nA court of this Commonwealth shall preserve the pleadings, orders, decrees, records of hearings, evaluations, and other pertinent records with respect to a child custody proceeding until the child attains eighteen years of age. Upon appropriate request by a court or law-enforcement official of another state, the court shall forward a certified copy of those records.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":298468,"text":"A court of this Commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another state to:","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"A1"},"1":{"id":298469,"text":"Hold an evidentiary hearing;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"A1","prefix_anchor":"A1","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"A2"},"2":{"id":298470,"text":"Order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that state;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"A2","prefix_anchor":"A2","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A1","next_prefix":"A3"},"3":{"id":298471,"text":"Order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child involved in a pending proceeding;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"A3","prefix_anchor":"A3","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A2","next_prefix":"A4"},"4":{"id":298472,"text":"Forward to the court of this Commonwealth a certified copy of the transcript of the record of the hearing, the evidence otherwise presented, and any evaluation prepared in compliance with the request; and","type":"section","prefixes":["A","4"],"prefix":"4","entire_prefix":"A4","prefix_anchor":"A4","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A3","next_prefix":"A5"},"5":{"id":298473,"text":"Order a party to a child custody proceeding or any person having physical custody of the child to appear in the proceeding with or without the child.","type":"section","prefixes":["A","5"],"prefix":"5","entire_prefix":"A5","prefix_anchor":"A5","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A4","next_prefix":"B"},"6":{"id":298474,"text":"Upon request of a court of another state, a court of this Commonwealth may hold a hearing or enter an order described in subsection A.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A5","next_prefix":"C"},"7":{"id":298475,"text":"Travel and other necessary and reasonable expenses incurred under subsections A and B may be assessed against the parties according to the law of this Commonwealth.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"8":{"id":298476,"text":"A court of this Commonwealth shall preserve the pleadings, orders, decrees, records of hearings, evaluations, and other pertinent records with respect to a child custody proceeding until the child attains eighteen years of age. Upon appropriate request by a court or law-enforcement official of another state, the court shall forward a certified copy of those records.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":13274,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Provisions","identifier":"1","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13273,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","permalink":{"id":179225,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13274,"identifier":"1","token":"20\/7.1\/1","url":"\/20\/7.1\/1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13273,"edition_id":1,"name":"Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act","identifier":"7.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12711,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","permalink":{"id":179223,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13273,"identifier":"7.1","token":"20\/7.1","url":"\/20\/7.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12711,"edition_id":1,"name":"Domestic Relations","identifier":"20","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":178075,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12711,"identifier":"20","token":"20","url":"\/20\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":82783,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.1","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/20-146.1\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.1","metadata":false},{"id":54269,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.10","catch_line":"Taking testimony in another state","url":"\/20-146.10\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.10","metadata":false},{"id":83304,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.11","catch_line":"Cooperation between courts; preservation of records","url":"\/20-146.11\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.11","metadata":false},{"id":78363,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.2","catch_line":"Proceedings governed by other law","url":"\/20-146.2\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.2","metadata":false},{"id":60654,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.3","catch_line":"Application to Indian tribes","url":"\/20-146.3\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.3","metadata":false},{"id":73892,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.4","catch_line":"International application","url":"\/20-146.4\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.4","metadata":false},{"id":84722,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.5","catch_line":"Effect of child custody determination","url":"\/20-146.5\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.5","metadata":false},{"id":78165,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.6","catch_line":"Priority","url":"\/20-146.6\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.6","metadata":false},{"id":56615,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.7","catch_line":"Notice to persons outside state","url":"\/20-146.7\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.7","metadata":false},{"id":56914,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.8","catch_line":"Appearance and limited immunity","url":"\/20-146.8\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.8","metadata":false},{"id":70807,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.9","catch_line":"Communication between courts","url":"\/20-146.9\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.9","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":54269,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.10","catch_line":"Taking testimony in another state","url":"\/20-146.10\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.10","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":78363,"structure_id":13274,"section_number":"20-146.2","catch_line":"Proceedings governed by other law","url":"\/20-146.2\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.2","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/20-146.11\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1979. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 229 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1979 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 2001, chapter 305<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":63566,"section_number":"63.2-1230","catch_line":"Placement of children by parent or guardian","order_by":null,"url":"\/63.2-1230\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":179235,"object_type":"law","relational_id":83304,"identifier":"20-146.11","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.11","url":"\/20-146.11\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/20-146.11\/","token":"20\/7.1\/1\/20-146.11","dublin_core":{"Title":"Cooperation between courts; preservation of records","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 20-146.11","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A court<\/span> of this Commonwealth may request the appropriate court<\/span> of another state to: <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Hold an evidentiary hearing<\/span>; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> Order<\/span> a person to produce or give evidence<\/span> pursuant to procedures of that state; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> Order<\/span> that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody<\/span> of a child involved in a pending proceeding; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4.<\/span> Forward to the court<\/span> of this Commonwealth a certified copy of the transcript<\/span> of the record of the hearing<\/span>, the evidence<\/span> otherwise presented, and any evaluation prepared in compliance with the request; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

5.<\/span> Order<\/span> a party<\/span> to a child custody<\/span> proceeding or any person having physical custody<\/span> of the child to appear in the proceeding with or without the child. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Upon request of a court<\/span> of another state, a court<\/span> of this Commonwealth may hold a hearing<\/span> or enter an order<\/span> described in subsection A. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Travel and other necessary and reasonable expenses incurred under subsections A and B may be assessed against the parties according to the law<\/span> of this Commonwealth. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> A court<\/span> of this Commonwealth shall preserve the pleadings<\/span>, orders<\/span>, decrees<\/span>, records of hearings<\/span>, evaluations, and other pertinent records with respect to a child custody<\/span> proceeding until the child attains eighteen years of age. Upon appropriate request by a court<\/span> or law<\/span>-enforcement official of another state, the court<\/span> shall forward a certified copy of those records. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCOOPERATION BETWEEN COURTS; PRESERVATION OF RECORDS (\u00a7 20-146.11)\n\nA. A court of this Commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another\nstate to:\n\n 1. Hold an evidentiary hearing;\n\n 2. Order a person to produce or give evidence pursuant to procedures of that\n state;\n\n 3. Order that an evaluation be made with respect to the custody of a child\n involved in a pending proceeding;\n\n 4. Forward to the court of this Commonwealth a certified copy of the\n transcript of the record of the hearing, the evidence otherwise presented, and\n any evaluation prepared in compliance with the request; and\n\n 5. Order a party to a child custody proceeding or any person having physical\n custody of the child to appear in the proceeding with or without the child.\n\nB. Upon request of a court of another state, a court of this Commonwealth may\nhold a hearing or enter an order described in subsection A.\n\nC. Travel and other necessary and reasonable expenses incurred under subsections\nA and B may be assessed against the parties according to the law of this\nCommonwealth.\n\nD. A court of this Commonwealth shall preserve the pleadings, orders, decrees,\nrecords of hearings, evaluations, and other pertinent records with respect to a\nchild custody proceeding until the child attains eighteen years of age. Upon\nappropriate request by a court or law-enforcement official of another state, the\ncourt shall forward a certified copy of those records.\n\nHISTORY: 1979, c. 229, \u00a7\u00a7 20-142, 20-143, 20-144, 20-145; 2001, c. 305.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}